GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora

Descriptions

W.D. Clayton, M. Vorontsova, K.T. Harman & H. Williamson

© Copyright The Board of Trustees, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Aulonemia deflexa

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect; 100–150 cm long; 4–5 mm diam.; woody. Culm-internodes terete; hollow; distally glabrous. Lateral branches dendroid. Bud complement 1. Branch complement one; solitary; as thick as stem. Leaf-sheaths glabrous on surface; outer margin glabrous, or hairy. Leaf-sheath oral hairs setose; 10–18 mm long. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 1 mm long; truncate. Collar with external ligule. Leaf-blade base symmetrical; with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath; petiole 0.3–0.4 cm long. Leaf-blades reflexed; deciduous at the ligule; lanceolate; 12–15 cm long; 22–28 mm wide. Leaf-blade midrib indistinct. Leaf-blade venation without cross veins. Leaf-blade surface glabrous. Leaf-blade margins scabrous. Leaf-blade apex acuminate.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence a panicle.

Panicle open; pyramidal; effuse; 12.5–28 cm long; 2.5–5 cm wide. Primary panicle branches ascending.

Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 3–4 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets linear; laterally compressed; 11–13 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.

GLUMES Glumes several; 3 empty glumes; persistent; dissimilar; shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume lanceolate; 2–3 mm long; 0.5 length of upper glume; membranous; without keels; 3 -veined. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume lanceolate; 6–7 mm long; membranous; without keels; 5–7 -veined. Upper glume apex obtuse.

FLORETS Fertile lemma lanceolate; 8–10 mm long; chartaceous; without keel; 7 -veined. Lemma margins ciliolate. Lemma apex acute. Palea 8 mm long. Palea keels ciliolate. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.

FLOWER Lodicules 3. Anthers 3; 4 mm long. Stigmas 2.

FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp.

DISTRIBUTION South America: northern South America.

NOTES Bambuseae. Fl Guiana 1995.

Please cite this publication as detailed in How to Cite Version: 3rd February 2016.